Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install iwatch on Ubuntu 22.04.
What is iwatch
iwatch is:
inotify (inode notify) is a Linux kernel subsystem that monitors
events in filesystems and reports those events to applications in
real time.
inotify can be used to monitor individual files or directories.
When a directory is monitored, inotify will return events for the
directory itself and for files inside the directory.
iWatch is a Perl wrap to inotify to monitor changes in specific
directories or files, sending alarm to the system administrator
(or other destination) in real time. It can:
- Send notifications via email about changes.
- Take programmable actions immediately, as emit alerts via
XMPP (jabber) messengers, WhatsApp or execute a local program
or script. - Act as HIDS (Host-based Intrusion Detection System) or an
integrity checker, complementing the firewall system in
networks and improving the security.
iWatch can run as a simple command, as well a daemon.
A good example of iWatch usage is to monitor the pages directory
in webservers to notify, in real time, about defacements or file
insertions. Other example is to synchronize configuration files
between machines, when they are changed, as in DHCP servers acting
in failover mode. You also use to synchronize files, via rsync
when these files are changed.
There are three methods to install iwatch on Ubuntu 22.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.
Install iwatch Using apt-get
Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.
sudo apt-get update
After updating apt database, We can install iwatch using apt-get by running the following command:
sudo apt-get -y install iwatch
Install iwatch Using apt
Update apt database with apt using the following command.
sudo apt update
After updating apt database, We can install iwatch using apt by running the following command:
sudo apt -y install iwatch
Install iwatch Using aptitude
If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.
sudo aptitude update
After updating apt database, We can install iwatch using aptitude by running the following command:
sudo aptitude -y install iwatch
How To Uninstall iwatch on Ubuntu 22.04
To uninstall only the iwatch package we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get remove iwatch
Uninstall iwatch And Its Dependencies
To uninstall iwatch and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 22.04, we can use the command below:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove iwatch
Remove iwatch Configurations and Data
To remove iwatch configuration and data from Ubuntu 22.04 we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y purge iwatch
Remove iwatch configuration, data, and all of its dependencies
We can use the following command to remove iwatch configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge iwatch
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install iwatch package on Ubuntu 22.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.
